Although the parish of Avendale was created in the late 11th or early 12th century, more than 400 years before the Reformation of the 18th century, little information has survived about the early parish churches. There is a record of a church existing in Strathaven in 1288, but its whereabouts we don’t know. Perhaps the local names Threestanes and Kirklandpark give an indication. However, before Avendale was built on its present site in 1772, the people of Strathaven worshipped in St Mary’s Kirk which was situated in the graveyard facing Strathaven Castle, probably about where the telephone exchange is now. The first regular ordained minister in Strathaven after the Reformation was David Cunningham who was inducted in 1563, and it is worthy of note that the parish church of Avendale has remained in continuous communion with the established Church of Scotland. for more click on the introduction
